"Each of the essays in this volume deals with various facets of his work, and all of them should be read." · American Anthropologist "This book offers a unique insight into the influence of one of the discipline's most important theorists. James and Allen are thoughtful editors . . . their respect produces the best form of criticism in fourteen essays by British, and other European, anthropologists . . . This is intriguing and stimulating reading . . . Mauss's work receives careful attention in this book which is helpful, incisive, and broadly significant to anthropology." · JRAI Marcel Mauss, successor of Emile Durkheim and one-time teacher of Claude Levi-Strauss, continues to inspire social scientists across various disciplines. Only selected texts of Mauss's work have been translated into English, but of these, some, as for instance his "Essay on the Gift," have proved of key significance for the development of anthropology internationally. Wendy James has taught at the University of Khartoum and has research experience in the Sudan and Ethiopia. She is currently Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford. After studying classics and medicine N. J. Allen qualified in Social Anthropology at Oxford, undertaking fieldwork in Nepal. He is currently Reader in the Social Anthropology of South Asia at the University of Oxford.